Experiencing a sudden Google algorithm update can be both confusing and worrisome. It’s almost like Google waits for you to have everything sorted out, and then they release an update that makes all your hard work outdated in an instant.
To make things trickier, Google keeps a lot of secrets about how it looks at websites and decides which ones show up and how they show up on the search results page (SERPs) for different searches.
The silver lining in this scenario is the availability of various Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools. Fortunately, there are plenty of free SEO tools available that help enhance online performance without breaking the bank.💰
From keyword research to technical SEO analysis, these tools cover diverse aspects of optimization, improve website rankings, and ultimately drive organic traffic.
So, without any further ado, let’s get started.
SEO tools provide information and warnings about how well your website is doing.
These tools can find areas where you can do better and highlight problems that might be stopping your website from showing up on search engines.
The SEO tools can help you with various factors like:
- Keyword Research
- SEO
- Technical SEO
- Analytics
- Site Speed
- Content Optimization
- Local SEO
- Structured Data and Schema Markup
- Rank Tracking
- Link Analysis
- Competitor Analysis
- Security
SEO tools are incredibly useful – but you need to understand how to use them to get the most out of them. Let us understand the free tools available in each of these categories.
If you’re looking to get started with SEO or want to achieve better results without spending money, here are the best free SEO tools you should be using.
2.1 Keyword Research Tool
Keyword research tools are essential for understanding the language and the queries your audience uses in search engines.
Google Keyword Planner
The Google Keyword Planner is a powerful tool designed to help in the essential process of keyword research.
The tool provides a comprehensive overview of potential keywords related to a particular topic or industry. It reveals search volume, competition level, and suggested bid amounts for paid advertising.
You need to enter relevant terms, phrases, or your website URL to generate keyword ideas. Then, review the suggested keywords along with their metrics, paying attention to search volume and competition.
Google Trends
Google Trends provides valuable data on how user interest in particular keywords evolves, making it a versatile tool for finding trending topics in the industry.
Start by entering a keyword or topic into the search bar. Google Trends displays a graph showing the search interest over time.
You can analyze the popularity of the keyword-based on geographic locations, time periods, and related queries.
2.2 SEO Tool
SEO tools streamline the optimization process, providing actionable insights and data-driven recommendations.
Rank Math
Rank Math is a comprehensive SEO plugin that assists in optimizing the content for search engines.
It offers features such as on-page SEO analysis, content insights, keyword tracking, and suggestions for improving website rankings, making it a valuable all-in-one solution for effective search engine optimization.
The plugin offers a paid version, but the free version itself is power-packed with a lot of features. Below is a glimpse of the features offered by the plugin.
- 750 free AI credits
- 18 pre-defined Schema types
- Google Search Console integration
- Advanced SEO analysis tool
- 1-click import from Yoast SEO, AIO SEO, and SEOPress
- SEO analysis score
- SEO failed tests
- 30+ detailed SEO tests
- Elementor and Divi Integration
- Automated Image SEO
Rank Math’s Content AI is power-packed with 40+ AI tools to make your writing easy and elevate your content creation process.
2.3 Technical SEO
Technical SEO tools are essential for diagnosing and resolving underlying technical issues on a website, ensuring optimal performance, user experience, and compliance with search engine guidelines, ultimately contributing to improved search rankings and visibility.
Robots.txt Generator
A Robots.txt Generator is a free SEO tool that helps to create and customize the robots.txt file, which instructs search engine bots on how to crawl and index the site.
This tool ensures proper control over search engine access by specifying which parts of the website should be crawled or avoided, improving overall SEO strategy and site performance.
Hreflang Tag Generator
Hreflang Tag Generator simplifies creating hreflang tags for multilingual or multinational websites.
These tags signal to search engines which language versions of a page are available, ensuring you’re directed to the most relevant content based on the language or location.
Add your desired URLs, select your target country and language, and click Generate.
2.4 Analytical Tools
Analytical tools are essential for understanding and evaluating the performance of websites. They provide insights into user behavior, identify trends, and inform data-driven decision-making for effective optimization and strategic planning.
Let us discuss the most common free SEO tools used for analytics.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a tool used for monitoring how your website performs in Google’s search results. It provides valuable data on impressions, clicks, and click-through rates, helping you assess the overall visibility and effectiveness of your web pages in search.
It offers insights into crawl errors, indexation problems, issues with mobile usability, and core web vitals, enabling you to address these issues promptly and ensure a smooth user experience.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a powerful web analytics tool that enables you to track and analyze the site’s traffic. It provides detailed insights into the number of visitors, their geographic location, devices used, and how they navigate the website.
Additionally, it identifies referral sources, showing which channels, such as organic search, social media, or direct visits, drive the most traffic.
2.5 Site Speed Tools
It is always a good practice to include a site speed tool in your checklist. It is used for optimizing user experience, improving search engine rankings, and reducing bounce rates by identifying and addressing factors that contribute to slow loading times on websites.
Google PageSpeed Insights
Google PageSpeed Insights is a free SEO tool that assesses the performance of a website by analyzing its page loading speed on both mobile and desktop devices.
Enter the URL of the webpage and click Analyze. PageSpeed Insights assesses your pages for Core Web Vitals.
The tool will also provide actionable recommendations to optimize performance, enhance user experience, and improve search engine rankings, aligning with Google’s emphasis on fast and efficient web experiences.
2.6 Content Optimization Tool
There are various content optimization tools available that can help you enhance your content. The most commonly used is Grammarly. Let us discuss it in more detail.
Grammarly
Grammarly is used to identify and correct grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and punctuation issues in real time. It ensures that the content is well-written and error-free.
The tool provides suggestions to improve sentence structure, enhance readability, and achieve a more concise and engaging writing style, indirectly contributing to a positive user experience.
2.7 Local SEO
Local SEO tools are necessary for businesses targeting local audiences. These tools streamline the optimization process, help manage local business information, and provide valuable insights to enhance the visibility and attract customers within specific geographic regions.
Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile allows you to transform individuals discovering your business on Google Search and Maps into valued customers by creating a complimentary Business Profile for your physical store or service region.
You can customize your profile effortlessly with images, promotions, posts, and additional details to make a lasting impression.
2.8 Structured Data and Schema Markup
Schema Markup enables the display of rich snippets in search engine results, offering audiences more information directly on the SERP. Structured data and Schema Markup tools help to improve how search engines interpret and present your content.
Google’s Rich Results Test
Google’s Rich Results Test is a free SEO tool that helps validate the structured data on a page to ensure it adheres to the schema markup guidelines. This helps identify any errors or issues with the structured data implementation.
This tool allows you to preview how rich snippets may appear on both mobile and desktop devices, ensuring a consistent and optimized display.
2.9 Rank Tracking Tool
Tracking rankings provides insights into your website’s visibility in search engine results. Knowing how often your website appears in search results and its position helps measure the overall impressions it receives.
Ahrefs’ SERP Checker
The SERP Analysis feature in Ahrefs allows you to analyze the search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords.
Enter a target keyword, and Ahrefs provides an overview of the keyword’s search volume, difficulty, and the number of clicks on the search results.
Ahrefs displays the top-ranking pages for the entered keyword and key metrics such as the number of backlinks, referring domains, and traffic.
BrightLocal’s Local SERP Checker
BrightLocal’s Local SERP Checker is designed to help track local search engine rankings.
You need to input your keyword and location and choose the country and language. You can also choose whether to see results from Google Search or Google Maps.
2.10 Link Analysis Tool
Analyzing the quality of backlinks is important to ensure a high quality and diverse backlink profile. Link-building tools help in assessing the authority, relevance, and trustworthiness of the websites linking to your site.
Backlink Checker by Ahrefs
Ahrefs’ Backlink Checker is a free SEO tool that provides a comprehensive analysis of a website’s backlink profile, offering insights into the total number of backlinks, referring domains, and referring IPs.
You need to enter the URL of the webpage, and the tool will provide you with the number of backlinks linking websites and analyze the anchor text distribution of the backlinks in no time.
2.11 Competitor Analysis Tool
Understanding your competition is extremely important to outrank them and improve your content strategies.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is designed to provide insights into website performance, keyword research, content optimization, and competitor analysis.
You can analyze competitors’ websites to understand their strategies. Ubersuggest provides information on top-performing pages, keywords, and backlink data for competitor websites.
Enter the keyword you want to rank for or a competing website you want to rank above, and click SEARCH.
Ubersuggest will provide detailed data on keyword difficulty, monthly search volume, and more.
Ubersuggest also has a Chrome extension that integrates easily with your browser.
2.12 Security Tools
Security tools are necessary for safeguarding your sites, networks, and systems from a variety of cyber threats. These tools monitor traffic, detect anomalies, and block malicious activities to maintain a secure network environment.
Google Safe Browsing Checker
Google Safe Browsing is designed to identify and flag websites that engage in phishing attacks. It is integrated into various web browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and other online platforms.
Enter the URL of the site, and if there is any unsafe content present, it will issue a warning.
3 Conclusion
SEO is made significantly more accessible and navigable with SEO tools.
These free SEO tools act as invaluable companions to establish a robust online presence. The user-friendly interfaces of these free SEO tools make them accessible to a wide audience, irrespective of technical expertise.
By offering insights into keywords, website health, and overall performance, these tools enhance the visibility on search engines without the need for hefty investments.
Which is your best free SEO tool? Let us know by Tweeting @rankmathseo.
